García-López Elena, Parmentier Fabrice B R
Neuropsychology and Cognition Group, Research Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain.
Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), Palma, Spain.
Front Psychol. 2024 Oct 2;15:1451008. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1451008. eCollection 2024.
Numerous studies using oddball tasks have shown that unexpected sounds presented in a predictable or repeated sequence (deviant vs. standard sounds) capture attention and negatively impact ongoing behavioral performance. Here, we examine an aspect of this effect that has gone relatively unnoticed: the impact of deviant sounds is stronger for response repetitions than for response switches. Our approach was two-fold. First, we carried out a simulation to estimate the likelihood that stimuli sequences used in past work may not have used balanced proportions of response repetition and switch trials. More specifically, we sought to determine whether the larger distraction effect for response repetitions may have reflected a rarer, and thereby more surprising, occurrence of such trials. To do so, we simulated 10,000 stimuli sets for a 2-AFC task with a proportion of deviant trial of 0.1 or 0.16. Second, we carried out a 2-AFC oddball task in which participants judged the duration of a tone (short vs. long). We carefully controlled the sequence of stimuli to ensure to balance the proportions of response repetitions and response switches across the standard and deviant conditions. The results of the stimuli simulation showed that, contrary to our concerns, response switches were more likely than response repetitions when left uncontrolled for. This suggests that the larger distraction found for response repetition in past work may in fact have been underestimated. In the tone duration judgment task, the results showed a large impact of the response type on distraction as measured by response times: Deviants sounds significantly delayed response repetitions but notably accelerated switches. These findings suggest that deviant sound hinder response repetition and encourage or bias the cognitive system towards a change of responses. We discuss these findings in relation to the adaptive nature of the involuntary detection of unexpected stimuli and in relation to the notion of partial repetition costs. We argue that results are in line with the binding account as well as with the signaling theory.
众多使用奇偶数任务的研究表明，以可预测或重复序列呈现的意外声音（异常声音与标准声音）会吸引注意力，并对正在进行的行为表现产生负面影响。在此，我们研究了这一效应中一个相对未被关注的方面：异常声音对反应重复的影响比对反应切换的影响更强。我们采用了两方面的方法。首先，我们进行了一项模拟，以估计过去研究中使用的刺激序列可能未平衡反应重复和切换试验比例的可能性。更具体地说，我们试图确定反应重复时更大的干扰效应是否可能反映了此类试验较少出现，因而更令人惊讶。为此，我们针对一个二选一迫选任务模拟了10000组刺激，异常试验的比例为0.1或0.16。其次，我们进行了一项二选一迫选奇偶数任务，参与者判断一个音调的时长（短与长）。我们仔细控制刺激序列，以确保在标准和异常条件下平衡反应重复和反应切换的比例。刺激模拟的结果表明，与我们的担忧相反，在未加控制时，反应切换比反应重复更有可能出现。这表明过去研究中发现的反应重复时更大的干扰效应实际上可能被低估了。在音调时长判断任务中，结果显示反应类型对以反应时间衡量的干扰有很大影响：异常声音显著延迟了反应重复，但显著加速了反应切换。这些发现表明，异常声音会阻碍反应重复，并促使或使认知系统倾向于改变反应。我们将这些发现与意外刺激的非自愿检测的适应性本质以及部分重复成本的概念联系起来进行讨论。我们认为结果与绑定理论以及信号理论一致。
